Hult Prize, a year-long global competition, had started its hunt for young visionaries in October 2020. The first stage included the OnCampus program, and for the last two years, NSU Young Economists’ Forum (YEF) has been the official club partner for Hult Prize at NSU. The registration for this intra-university competition began in mid-October, and around 65 teams participated to solve this year’s “Food for Good” challenge.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hult Prize is coping with the new normal by organizing the events online and all the sessions, which also included the introduction, training, and grooming sessions, were held virtually through webinars.
The introduction and information sessions were held online on 11th and 16th November, respectively. The first session was hosted by Mr. Fahim Shahryar, Asian Regional Associate, Hult Prize Foundation and the second session was hosted by the former campus director of Hult Prize at NSU, Jannatul Tazreen, where they discussed about the benefits of the Oncampus program, tips, and tricks, and how to kick start the preparation for the competition.
Additionally, two grooming sessions were conducted, and the first session was hosted on 22nd November by Tasneem Omar Ava, global finalist of Hult Prize 2016, and on 28th November, the second session was hosted by Shitab Daiyan Akash, former director of Hult Prize Foundation and Hult Prize 2018 Finalist.
There were twelve teams in the semi finals round, which was held on 8th December, and four teams were selected to compete on the final round. The Grand Finale of the OnCampus Program was held at 11th December, and after the rigorous presentation sessions by the finalists, Team Crossover was selected as the Champion. The Grand Finale was judged by Fasbeer Eskander, Head of operations of Footsteps, Reyasat Chowdhury, Founder and CEO of Shuttle, and Salman Ali, CEO of Price Koto and VFTracker, and the director of Ezzy Group and Foodfez Limited.
The Champion team was awarded with a prize money of BDT 30,000; the First Runner Up won BDT 20,000, and the Second Runner Up was awarded with a prize money of BDT 10,000. The First Runner Up is Team Cornucopia and the Second Runner Up is Team Athletes. The members of the Champion, Team Crossovers are Adnan Hatim Hossain, Nabila Mahbub Briste, Nabila Binte Alam and AKM Mushfiqur Rahman.
The objective of the Hult Prize at NSU for this year was different from that of the previous years as it aimed to inspire the students to generate sustainable and lucrative ideas and help them to make great future possibilities. Conforming to this year’s theme, “Food for Good”, the members of NSU YEF ran a donation campaign throughout the event on behalf of the Hult Prize at NSU. The members visited Modinatul Ulum Madrasha and Atimkhana in Turag, and distributed food in the orphanage along with conducting some fun activities with the orphans.
The Title Sponsor of the Hult Prize at NSU is Bay Emporium Ltd, and the Powered by Sponsor is City Bank Ltd, and the Associate Sponsor for this year’s Oncampus Program is British Educare. The Strategic Partner is Banglalink. The Daily Sun, Kaaler Kontho, The Business Standard and The Financial Express are the Print Media Partners, while the Editorial Partner is Nutshell Today. The Digital Media Partner is Bangladesh Post, and the Broadcasting Partner is News24. The Radio and Other Media Partners are Radio Today and NSU Talks and The Prestige Magazine, respectively. The Beverage Partner is Coca Cola.
The OnCampus Program was held smoothly through the diligence and perseverance of the of Hult Prize at NSU team. Rabea Ahmed is the Campus Director for the Hult Prize at NSU, and Tazwar Hussain is the Deputy Campus Director. The Organizing Committee Heads and their respective positions are follows: Mashrur Ahmed Zidane-Head of Operations; Ramisha Hoque-Head of Marketing; Nusrat Ferdoush-Head of Public Relations; Ertisam Ali Sarkar Ifti – Head of Logistics; Fairuz Joyeeta- Head of Academics; Pantha Ahnaf – Head of Promotions; Suhita Hoque- Head of Judge Coordination; Rafael Ahmed- Head of Delegations; Hasibur Rahman- Head Event Management.
